Lost River Phoenix Movie Being Released 18 Years After His Death

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Eighteen years after he collapsed and died on Halloween night in front of L.A.'s The Viper Room, River Phoenix is returning to the big screen.

Dutch director George Sluizer (who directed the original version of what eventually became the American remake "The Vanishing") has been sitting on footage he had been shooting with Phoenix at the time of his death for almost two decades, but is now ready to recut it and release it.

The film, called "Dark Blood," starred Phoenix as a recluse living near a nuclear testing site who provides shelter for a wealthy Hollywood couple (Judy Davis and Jonathan Pryce). We surmise that the cozy threesome eventually sours. Why? Because it's called "Dark Blood." Also? "Dutch."

Sluzier, who feared the footage would be destroyed following Phoenix's death according to a Hollywood Reporter account, claims he is planning on recruiting Phoenix's brother Joaquin to record some connective voice-over as River's character - saying "the voices of both brothers are very much alike."

With the help of a Dutch-based production company, Sluzier hopes to have the film ready for release next year.

Phoenix's last completed film, the country-music-themed "The Thing Called Love," was released in 1993.